Improvement in lubricating compounds



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRIDGET FRENCH, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 126,282, dated April30, 1872.

Specification describing a certain Improvement in Lubricating Compounds,invented by Mrs. BRIDGET FRENCH, of the city of Rochester, in the countyof Monroe and State of New York.

My invention consists in the combination of petroleum or other oil,plumbago, and beeswax, either with or without other adjuncts, the objectbeing to hold the plumbago in suspension and prevent its precipitatingto the bottom, as hereinafter described.

The proportions of the elements may be varied as necessity may require,but I prefer about the following: Petroleum or other oil, one gallon;plumbago, fourteen ounces; beeswax, five ounces. I prefer, also, to usewith the above the following elements; but, if desired, they may bedispensed with, as those first named will form a composition that holdsthe plumbago in suspension, and answers every practical purpose Muttontallow, one and onehalf ounces; soda, one-half ounce. In case of the useof these additional parts, a less quantity of beeswax may be used-say,about one and one-half ounce, more or less.

The elements of the compound are mixed together at once, and thoroughlystirred or agitated while being raised to a boiling heat. The mass isthen cooled and subsequently stirred, which is essential as thefinishing step of the process.

Many attempts have been made to hold plumbago in suspension in oil forthe purpose of producing a lubricant, but, so far as I am aware, havefailed. It has been proposed to combine glue, asbestus, glycerine,caoutchouc,

and other materials, but they have not been effective for the purpose.By practical test I find I can hold the plumbago in suspension by theuse of bees-wax alone. This material, when melted in the petroleum orother oil, diffuses through and unites thoroughly with it, and when coldforms a combination that will not separate, and the particles of leaduniting with the particles of wax, are held by adhesion and cannotprecipitate. In this manner the suspension becomes efi'ective, and thelead at all times is equalized through the oil. I have tested this byweeks of standing, and find the suspension as perfect at last as it wasat first. The effect, I believe, is owing to the adhesion of the minuteparticles of lead and wax, and their thoroughincorporation through thebody of oil. The peculiar qualities of the wax are such as to render ita good lubricant when dissolved in oil, diii'ering in this respect fromtarry or pitchy materials, which would have a tendency to adhere to andclog journals or other bearings of machinery. The tendency of the wax isto hold the lead to the journal so as to form a proper lubricating filmwithout sticking or clogging it. A greater or less proportion of the waxwill be required, according to the weight or size of the machinery, orwinter or summer use, and a lighter or heavier quality of the oil mayalso be desirable under the same circumstances. Hence I do not desire toconfine myself to exact proportions, nor to a particular grade of oil.The compound above described constitutes a very effective and usefullubricant, and may be used to great advantage without the addition ofother parts; but from experiment I have ascertained that a less quantityof the bees-wax may be used by the addition of the alkali and tallowhence the cost is greatly reduced by the employment of theseconstituents. Instead of soda, as before stated, any alkali maybeemployed, and instead of alkali and tallow being employed as separateelements, soap, either hard or soft, (which is a compound of the two,)may be applied. Different proportions of the alkali and tallow, as wellas the wax, may be used. The effect :of the alkali and unctuous oil orgrease is to saponit'y the mass by which it is solidified to the properextent, or brought to the proper semi-fluid state to form a lubricant.It also has the efl'ect to combine with the wax and plumbago, effectingthereby a chemical change to a certain extent that is beneficial to thecompound. This I have found from experiment to be the case.

The artifice by which the plumbago is kept in permanent suspension inthe oil seems to have no efl'ect on the useful properties of either. Oiland plumbago are chemically neutral to each other, and there is nothingin or about the compound which caninduce any injurious change in any ofthe constituents. There can be no corrosive or other injurious effectupon the metal surfaces on which it is used. The value of the oil as alubricant is not lessened, and to this are added the well-knowndesirable properties of plumbago. I have contem 2. I also claim, incombination with an oil having plumbago and bees-wax in solution, theuse of alkali and unctuous oil or tallow, (or soap,) for the purpose ofsaponifying and soliditying the mass, as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

BRIDGET FRENCH.

Witnesses: R. F. Oseoon, ARCHIE BAINE.

